COMMISSION DISMISSES TAMARAC ETHICS CHARGES

TAMARAC -- The vice mayor and two former City Council members no longer face charges they violated state ethics laws by asking the city to reimburse them for some personal and political expenses.

The state Commission on Ethics announced its findings Wednesday, nearly a year after city Charter Board member Isaac "Zeke" Feldman filed complaints against Larry Bender, now vice mayor, and then-council members Henry Rohr and Bruce Hoffman, who lost re-election bids in March.

"It was a Mickey Mouse accusation to start with," Hoffman said. "It was frivolous, and it was entered by someone who has nothing better to do than make false accusations."

Feldman had claimed that Hoffman, Rohr and Bender violated ethics laws by seeking public funds to pay for things such as Chamber of Commerce dues and travel to and from political events.

State law prohibits public officials from using public office for special benefits. Violators can be fined, and can face penalties including removal from office.

The ethics commission, meeting in closed session on Sept. 13, found that the complaints against Rohr and Bender were incomplete and dismissed the charges.

The complaint against Hoffman was more specific, but he was cleared for other reasons.

Assistant Attorney General Virlindia Doss, who investigated the complaint against Hoffman, said City Manager John Kelly approved his reimbursement requests.

"The City Manager's approval and the submission of the detailed records served to undercut any suggestion of corrupt intent on the part of (Hoffman)," Doss wrote in a report used by the full ethics commission to help evaluate the Hoffman complaint.

The ethics commission also said that the mileage reimbursements sought by Hoffman "do not justify the public costs in funds and manpower in pursuing this matter further."

The complaint covered items that included $26.83 in mileage reimbursement, Chamber of Commerce dues and a tape recorder.